BRITAIN: Speculation about when Prime Minister Tony Blair might be interviewed in connection with the alleged "cash for honours" scandal intensified yesterday as police resumed questioning his chief fundraiser, Lord Levy.
A Downing Street statement said there had been no approach from the Metropolitan Police to interview the prime minister. However, the belief that he would be questioned grew after Deputy Assistant Commissioner John Yates briefed members of the House of Commons public administration committee behind closed doors about the course of the investigation.
As officers resumed questioning Lord Levy for several hours at Colindale police station in north London, Mr Yates told MPs his team has so far interviewed 48 individuals, 13 of them under caution; that a further three people, who have not been named, had declined to be interviewed; and that two submissions of material had been sent to the Crown Prosecution Service.
Committee chairman Tony Wright said he had the impression the police investigation was being taken "very seriously", although he stressed it was not clear whether it would ultimately lead to charges.
Mr Wright also confirmed that the investigation into the alleged bestowal of honours in return for financial support extended to all three main parties at Westminster, and that police have actually interviewed "more Conservatives than Labour people".
The spotlight remained firmly on Mr Blair. A Conservative member of the committee said Mr Yates had indicated he would prefer the committee to postpone any plans it might have to question Mr Blair about £14 million raised in secret loans from Labour-supporting businessmen before the last election, including four who Mr Blair subsequently nominated for peerages.
That specific "loans for peerages" row exploded in the government's face after Labour treasurer Jack Dromey revealed that he and other senior party figures knew nothing of the arrangement by which donors were asked to give loans rather than donations.
Mr Blair admitted he knew about the loans when he nominated Sir David Garrard, Sir Gulam Noon, Barry Townsley and Chai Patel for the House of Lords.
Labour opinion at Westminster is divided between those who believe Mr Blair should not be scapegoated, given that the Conservatives also exploited a loophole enabling them to avoid disclosure of loans as opposed to donations, and those - some of them hoping to spur Mr Blair's departure from Number 10 - who insist the behaviour of other parties does not excuse the secrecy surrounding Labour's fund-raising activities.
Party anxieties increased last night when a statement from Lord Levy hinted that the Labour high-command may be set on the high-risk strategy of challenging the police conduct of the investigation.
Following Lord Levy's initial arrest and release on bail on Wednesday, former home secretary David Blunkett said people expected investigators to be "thorough rather than theatrical".
That provoked a sharp response from Mr Yates, who told the MPs the peer's arrest was "integral" to the inquiry and in no way "symbolic".
Mr Wright confirmed Mr Yates was "very cross" and had "strongly repudiated" Mr Blunkett's suggestion. Mr Yates told the committee Lord Levy's arrest had been part of normal procedures which would have been followed in any investigation.
There was no indication that Lord Levy had sought to deny police access to documents, but arresting him had simplified the process of obtaining them, Mr Yates suggested.
However, after returning home following his second meeting with the police yesterday, Lord Levy issued a statement through his solicitor echoing Mr Blunkett's charge, claiming that his arrest had been "unnecessary, disproportionate and . . . entirely theatrical". The statement explained that Lord Levy had returned for further questioning after Wednesday's interview was cut short because of a fire near the police station.
It then continued: "Lord Levy remains deeply disappointed that the police decided they should use their powers of arrest . . . Lord Levy has always been ready and willing to co-operate and meet the police at any time of their choosing. He has always been only too willing also to provide the police with any documents they might have needed, and continues to be so willing."